3 ms·

I heard the designer of the gun on the BBC today. He said he created the design because he is a Libertarian and is trying to hasten the time when all informati

by 300bps 14y ago

I heard the designer of the gun on the BBC today. He said he created the design because he is a Libertarian and is trying to hasten the time when all information is freely available. He rejects government censorship of information. He also said that the printer used to make his gun costs about $8,000 but that people were reporting making a working gun with as low as a $2,000 printer. http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22478310 http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22478310

rickyc091 14y ago
I'm pretty sure a $2000 printer isn't necessary to print it. Printrbots are relatively cheap < $500, but you have to assemble it yourself. PrintrBot+ printing + superfine resolutions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyrP4LWc0yk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyrP4LWc0yk
- DigitalJack 14y ago
  Do they use the same raw material?
  - guizzy 14y ago
    Yes, and they can use better material than the ABS used by Defense Distributed. I'm not certain why he hasn't tried making them out of Nylon (of which there is filament widely available now), which has all-around better mechanical properties than ABS.
- knowaveragejoe 14y ago
  I can't imagine a $500 or even a $2000 printer can print a solid enough gun that could be reused over and over. A couple of shots, maybe.
  - jlgreco 14y ago
    So the same as the $8k printer then.
  - olefoo 14y ago
    You would need a printer that can do selective sintering of metal dust. And I'm fairly sure you could build a gun that had an extended duty cycle. http://gpiprototype.com/services/dmls-direct-metal-laser-sintering.html http://gpiprototype.com/services/dmls-direct-metal-laser-sin...
astrodust 14y ago
It's basically a fancy zip gun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm), something people have been making ever since there were cartridges to put in them. Like a home-made zip gun it's quite dangerous to use, and liable to malfunction in all kinds of ways harmful to the user.
shpxnvz 14y ago
It's worth noting that with a basic milling machine (about $400) an individual in the U.S. can legally manufacture for personal use an AR-15 lower receiver from either a bare or partially machined forging ($50) in as little as a few hours. Some have done the job with only a Dremel or hand drill, making the investment much cheaper. I share this only to illustrate that this technology is not enabling a radical new ability to produce cheap personal-use weapons, but more of an (expensive) prototype evolutionary step in the process. In addition, possibly in contrast to this printed design, a home made receiver that is properly surface-hardened after machining is fully as capable and safe as any other receiver manufactured to the TDP.

by 300bps 14y ago

rickyc091 14y ago

I'm pretty sure a $2000 printer isn't necessary to print it. Printrbots are relatively cheap < $500, but you have to assemble it yourself. PrintrBot+ printing + superfine resolutions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyrP4LWc0yk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jyrP4LWc0yk

DigitalJack 14y ago
Do they use the same raw material?
- guizzy 14y ago
  Yes, and they can use better material than the ABS used by Defense Distributed. I'm not certain why he hasn't tried making them out of Nylon (of which there is filament widely available now), which has all-around better mechanical properties than ABS.
knowaveragejoe 14y ago
I can't imagine a $500 or even a $2000 printer can print a solid enough gun that could be reused over and over. A couple of shots, maybe.
- jlgreco 14y ago
  So the same as the $8k printer then.
- olefoo 14y ago
  You would need a printer that can do selective sintering of metal dust. And I'm fairly sure you could build a gun that had an extended duty cycle. http://gpiprototype.com/services/dmls-direct-metal-laser-sintering.html http://gpiprototype.com/services/dmls-direct-metal-laser-sin...

astrodust 14y ago

It's basically a fancy zip gun (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Improvised_firearm), something people have been making ever since there were cartridges to put in them. Like a home-made zip gun it's quite dangerous to use, and liable to malfunction in all kinds of ways harmful to the user.

shpxnvz 14y ago

It's worth noting that with a basic milling machine (about $400) an individual in the U.S. can legally manufacture for personal use an AR-15 lower receiver from either a bare or partially machined forging ($50) in as little as a few hours. Some have done the job with only a Dremel or hand drill, making the investment much cheaper. I share this only to illustrate that this technology is not enabling a radical new ability to produce cheap personal-use weapons, but more of an (expensive) prototype evolutionary step in the process. In addition, possibly in contrast to this printed design, a home made receiver that is properly surface-hardened after machining is fully as capable and safe as any other receiver manufactured to the TDP.